India's COVID-19 mothers give birth to healthy babies

By Cheena Kapoor

NEW DELHI (AA) - More than 250 babies were born to mothers who tested positive for COVID-19 at hospitals in India's glitzy capital of Mumbai, which has been the worst-hit by the pandemic.

The state-run Sion Hospital recorded 130 deliveries in the last one month from mothers infected by the virus. Of the total deliveries, 57 were cesarean born, while the remaining 73 were normal births.

"One child showed COVID-19 symptoms after delivery, but luckily recovered from it four days later and tested negative. All the mothers are in the quarantine facility. Two of the pregnant mothers died, the rest all are doing good,” Dr. Ramesh Bharmal, dean of Sion Hospital, told Anadolu Agency.

Babies are tested 24 hours after birth.

Due to its proximity to Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi -- a COVID-19 hotspot -- the hospital, with dedicated 25 COVID-19 beds, records at least seven to eight deaths a day, totaling the number to over 100 so far. The hospital has discharged 1,000 patients after they recovered.

Nair Hospital, another civic-run hospital in the city, recorded 120 deliveries in the same period, which include triplets, twins, and a stillbirth.

Mumbai has so far reported 23,935 infections and 841 deaths.

The western state of Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai, is the worst affected state in the country with 39,297 cases, and 1,390 deaths. The state has reported around 35% of total cases in the country.

India is expecting 20.1 million births in November and December as partners spend longer time together due to strict lockdown rules.

The data released by UNICEF predicted 116 million babies will be born by the end of this year, with India leading the list of countries with highest number of births.

This is followed by China at 13.5 million, Nigeria at 6.4 million, Pakistan at 5 million and Indonesia at 4 million expected births.